USO, Sandals Grants Honeymoon Wish for Military Family

After a whirlwind romance, she and Army Spc. Bryan Burnett rushed to wed in a courtroom ceremony in the spring of 2010, just before his pending deployment. The newlyweds weren’t able to celebrate with a honeymoon.

“Ever since then we’ve been praying and trying to plan a ‘real’ wedding with our families, but have not been able to afford it,” Jennifer said. “I was eight months pregnant when he shipped off, and it was so hard those first months as a parent without him.”

Bryan returned home after 10 months in Afghanistan to meet his son, Bentley, for the first time. But he’d missed all of the firsts. First steps, first anniversaries and everything else that goes with being a new father.

“It seems we have been in a rut since he returned,” she wrote in her submission essay to the USO in an effort to win a Sandals WeddingMoon vacation. “It would be a dream come true for us to have both of our families together to witness the renewal of our vows, and to see the genuine love we have for one another and our pride and joy, Bentley.”

The Burnetts were selected—along with more than 20 other military families—to attend a star-studded, interactive bridal experience at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The event was hosted by Sandals Resorts and special guest emcee, Randy Fenoli, star of TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress” and “Randy to the Rescue.”

The main event was dubbed the Ultimate Bouquet Toss, where the sea of military brides gathered behind Fenoli for a chance to win them their dream WeddingMoon, as well as a wedding dress and tuxedo. Maria Yates—who traveled all the way from Fort Dix, N.J., with her husband, Jason, a member of the Air Force—caught the bouquet.

For a brief moment, the Burnetts were disappointed they didn’t win the grand prize. But that disappointment quickly turned into elation when the USO and Sandals Resorts made their dreams come true anyway. Sandals Chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart and CEO Adam Stewart took the stage after the toss and surprised all the military couples in attendance with the gift of a free honeymoon.

“Everyone went crazy,” Jennifer said. “It caught us totally by surprise. We were excited just to get the trip to New York City. Bryan had just returned from a second deployment to Afghanistan, so it was the first time we really got to spend any time together.”

The couple chose to have their honeymoon at Sandals Royal Plantation in Jamaica.

“It’s nice to see companies like Sandals and organizations like the USO willing to do things like this for us,” Bryan said. “There are probably so many other couples more deserving, but we can’t thank Sandals and the USO enough for this. You truly made our dream come true.” - Joseph Andrew Lee, USO Staff Writer

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